Summertime, summertime, sum-sum-summertime

My thinking brain cells are misfiring today. There are a million articles that could be written. I might be experiencing summer daydreamer syndrome! I am just going to ramble and see where my meandering takes me. There is a gathering/BBQ here on Sunday. I am planning to make a 3 layer cake, red, white & blue. Maybe put strawberries in between the layers.

I got the strawberries at the Farmer's Market at Horton Square. They were ready to eat and they taste wonderful. I also got some fresh tomatoes & avocadoes for my BAT sandwich. Two so far and they tasted great. Have you ever done a taste test just to see if there is any difference? Try it on tomatoes. The ones you buy at a grocery store are picked early and really have very little flavor. If you get them at Farmer's Market, they are fresh off the vine where they ripened into this truly delicious, perfect for sandwiches, tomatoes.

Fourth of July is creeping up, in fact it is next week. That will mean 6 months already passed us by this year. I spend the holiday picnicking with friends. I have made one batch of sugar cookie dough. I usually do 3 full batches, red, white & blue. They are a big hit every year. I used to make the cookies and sprinkle them with colored sugar. Now I use food color and make the dough red, white & blue. The red doesn't quite get there & remains a pinkish color. I'll try for more food coloring this year.

The fireworks on the bay are always loud & great to watch. There are 3 barges and the fireworks are set up to go off simultaneously. It is much more difficult to find a good spot to watch from due to the many tall buildings that blanket downtown San Diego.

One of my pet peeves came up the other night. Salma Hayek Pineault was on
Letterman's show. She is a beautiful woman and she was wearing a beautiful purple dress. But, Dave was talking to her and she didn't respond. He finally asked if she was still there!! She told him she didn't understand & she just wanted to talk about her daughter, Victorina. She has a heavy accent and is very difficult to understand. Here she is making tons of money, living the good life, but (this is my opinion) makes little effort to learn English. During her childhood, she attended a school in Louisiana and she lived in Texas with an aunt until she was 17. My impression is, she was born into a rich Mexican family and believes she has no reason to learn English. After all, she is a film star and she has people to do her bidding. My 2 cents worth: Learn English

The apartment complex where I live has been undergoing construction, getting a facelift for about 18 months. One of the key issues was the gates. Some of the residents would climb up on a planter wall & climb over (it is SO much easier than carrying a key). So, now we have these very tall, metal gates. Just recently, I was awakened by loud banging noises. I went out on my patio and there were 2 young men kicking the fence. I hollered at them & they left. Last night, a young man had some sort of tool and was making an effort to break the handle. He was apparently intoxicated because he slurred his words when he told me to mind my own business. These gates have been up for several weeks and the handles have been broken, repaired, broken, repaired, and on & on. I don't know why these young men resort to breaking the gates when carrying a key makes much more sense.

In the past couple of days, the rustic gates have been painted a garish, ugly, bright orange. The architect is apparently color blind. It reminds me of the Public Storage orange. I looked up an ad for Public Storage and discovered that their orange is dull compared to the paint on the gates here.

Comments

"I also got some fresh tomatoes & avocadoes for my BAT sandwich. Two so far and they tasted great. Have you ever done a taste test just to see if there is any difference? Try it on tomatoes."

I'm not sure what you are recommending we try on tomatoes? You mention avos and strawberries, so not sure if you mean one of those? Produce at the Horton market sounds lovely; we'll have to go.

Auntie SD, the rest of the world looks at us, thinking, how arrogant can a people get? They go on and on about how some people should learn English, but make little effort to learn any other languages themselves, or to learn something about other cultures. I tell you, it is embarrassing to travel and hear these impressions, and have no rejoinder because it is true. As a country we are isolated, and we are arrogant.

Speaking of impressions:

"My impression is, she was born into a rich Mexican family and believes she has no reason to learn English. After all, she is a film star and she has people to do her bidding. My 2 cents worth: Learn English "

Why should she learn English, beyond the English she knows for film acting? I think you are assuming that she is an American citizen and lives here in the US full time, because you saw her on a show filmed in L.A.. Without doing the Internet research we probably should before speculating and judging, my impression is that she is likely a world traveler with multiple languages under her belt--French, perhaps, as she appears to have acquired a French last name.

SDaniels, I am somewhat of a snob when it comes to Patriotism. I believe that people who live in a country should speak the language. I do not know if Ms. Pinault speaks other languages. I did reaearch and learned that she went to school in Louisiana and lived in Texas until age 17. I do not assume she is a citizen here. I actually assume her home is in Mexico as she comes from a wealthy Mexican family.

The real issue? I don't like her!!!!!!

OOPS there is my arrogance sneaking out. I do know the world thinks of us as "ugly Americans". So be it. I consider myself lucky to have been born in the USA (thanks Bruce). I happen to like our FREEDOMs.